The present invention generally relates to laboratory equipment and, more specifically, to a thin film probe tip for atomic force microscopy.
Probes for micro-fabrication applications typically employ a silicon crystal based tip suitable for use in semiconductor integrated circuit topology applications. The size of silicon crystal based tips may make them to large for many probe applications reducing the breadth of their usefulness. Silicon crystal based tips are typically formed by machining a silicon substrate to form a cantilever (which can be several microns thick) with a solid conical silicon projection left as a probe tip. The integrity of the cantilever may be vulnerable to vibrations or breakage.
As can be seen, there is a need to provide a probe with a thinner but rigid profile that can be used with a variety of applications.